How Olympic champion and 'Dancing With the Stars' winner Apolo Anton Ohno copes with breathing disorder

It takes a lot of training and physical endurance to win eight Olympic medals.

Or to be a contestant on ABC's hit show "Dancing With the Stars" not once, but twice.

For Apolo Anton Ohno, a speed skater once referred to as the greatest Winter Olympian of all time, the tasks came with an extra challenge.

For the first time in his life, the 30-year-old is speaking publicly about the medical condition he has faced throughout his career: exercise-induced bronchospasm.

"I've had this condition for over 15 years now," Ohno says.

"It impacts me every single day to the point where I really need to be able to speak openly about this to people and share my own personal story and let them know that they're not alone in dealing with this condition."

EIB symptoms occur during or after exercise and include coughing, wheezing and feeling out of breath. Much like asthma, the symptoms are caused as airways tighten and the body produces extra mucus, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The condition affected the professional athlete's ability to train and compete at his ultimate level. It wasn't until Ohno was diagnosed and began a treatment plan of inhalers and oral medication in 2000 that he went on to win more than 98 percent of his races that year. He won his first gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics. He is undecided on whether he will make a run for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Until the diagnosis, Ohno thought his symptoms were nothing to be concerned about.

"I thought that was just a natural byproduct of training hard and being fatigued," he says.

"I had no idea that this was something that would directly impact my performance as an athlete. I had no idea that I actually had a 35 to 40 percent drop-off rate from what was normal (endurance). All I actually ever wanted to do was just perform at my normal potential ability."

Ohno says many people believe their EIB symptoms are normal and something they just have to live with, which is why he has partnered with Teva Respiratory to create the EIB All Stars awareness campaign and contest.

People who have been diagnosed with EIB, or have cared for someone with the condition, are asked to share their stories on the campaign's website, www.EIBAllStars.com, now through Feb. 18. The public will have the chance to vote for the winner, who will then get to meet Ohno in Los Angeles.

"Teva Respiratory is committed to improving the lives of patients through both effective medications and through public education," said Mark Salyer, general manager of Teva Respiratory, a subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

"We identified a need for greater awareness of EIB and developed EIB All Stars to elevate the discussion between patients and their health care providers about this very common but underdiagnosed condition."

According to the EIB All Stars' website, an estimated 30 million Americans have EIB, many of whom are undiagnosed.

But Ohno not only wants those undiagnosed with the condition to become aware of it, he also wants them to know that it doesn't have to affect their lives.

"We want people to understand they can do whatever it is they want to do, whether it's playing with their kids, playing with their dog, being a 5K specialist, 10K, marathon, whatever it is. Or if they have Olympic dream aspirations," Ohno says.

"They can do all these things, but first it's getting to the bottom of what the condition is all about."

EIB can occur in people of all ages and activity levels, but the Mayo Clinic says there are some risk factors, including:

-- Prior diagnosis of asthma -- Having allergies -- Exposure to air pollution or pollen; -- Smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke; -- Participating in winter sports (because of the cold air) -- Having a family member who suffers from the condition.

Treatment will vary for each person, but may include inhalers and various types of oral medications.

Until he started implementing his own treatment protocol, Ohno says the condition not only affected him physically, but mentally as well.

Once he knew he was competing at his full potential, his confidence in the rink surged.

"For me, without those prescribed medications and that protocol, I was a different athlete. I truly was a different athlete," Ohno says.

"To be honest with you, it affects people from just going outside and playing with their kids ... We want to hear from these people and we want to let them know that they don't have to let it affect them."

To learn more about exercise-induced bronchospasm or to enter the EIB All Stars contest, go to www.EIBAllStars.com.